Cardcaptor Evangelion
by Teknomancer
Summary: Fifteen years have passed since Second Impact. The Angels once again threaten Tokyo-3. Now, the only hope for Earth rests on three pilots...and a girl with magical powers? Welcome to one of the most unlikely crossovers of all time!
1. Prologue: Angel Attack

CARDCAPTOR EVANGELION  
Prologue  
Angel Attack  
  
by Teknomancer  
  
DISCLAIMER: Pretty much every character here is copyright either CLAMP or Gainax. The only reason I'm writing this is because it's a twisted idea that sprung up in my head and refuses to go away. I take no responsiblity for any psychiatrist's bills that may result from reading this.  
  
HISTORICAL NOTE: These events take place after the first three seasons of CCS...well, what those seasons would be if they occurred in the same timeframe of NGE, and if the main characters were all fourteen. Also, I've made several changes to the characters to fit them into the NGE continuity more easily. Deal.  
  
Anyway...  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - THE CAGE  
--------------------  
  
"Father, why did you call me?"  
  
Shinji Ikari stood, his head cast downward towards the steel walkway. But even as he asked, he knew the answer.  
  
"I called you here because I had a need for you."  
  
Shinji glanced upwards briefly, towards the giant humanoid robot covered in purple armor. Unit 01. "You want me to pilot it? Why?"  
  
Gendo cast his ever-present level stare at Shinji. "Because noone else can."  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - GEO-SHELTER 334  
--------------------  
  
"Well, if it has nothing to do with Clow Reed, then why do you sense so much magic from it?"  
  
Sakura looked into her bag at Kero, Tomoyo and Syaoron a short distance away.  
  
"I don't know if it is magic," Kero replied. "But there's power...more than I have ever felt."  
  
"In the Angel?" Syaoron asked.  
  
"It's going to destroy Tokyo-3!" Tomoyo reminded the group. "Sakura-chan, Li-kun, you have to stop it!"  
  
"We can't," Syaoron said. "Not without revealing our magic. And if that happens..."  
  
"I know, I know," Sakura said. "Paradox. But there has to be something."  
  
"Your father works for NERV, doesn't he, Sakura?" Syaoron asked.  
  
"As a scientist," Sakura replied. "He doesn't do anything important...why?"  
  
Syaoron grinned. "Just follow me, Sakura-chan."  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - THE CAGE  
--------------------  
  
Whatever God or gods governed the fate of humanity, they certainly did not seem to like Shinji. Here he was, the injured body of someone named Rei resting in his arms, his hands covered in blood.  
  
The Angel had done something...it had found them. But when the ceiling began to fall, Unit 01 blocked the beams...despite everyone claiming it was impossible.  
  
Shinji repeated four words under his breath, a mantra that he hoped would steel him for what would inevitably happen. "I musn't run away."  
  
Perhaps if he said it enough, he would believe it.  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - OUTSIDE GEO-SHELTER 334  
--------------------  
  
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Syaoron had climbed out the shaft to the surface of Tokyo-3, Kero finally free to fly around without worrying about being seen. "I can sense it too now," Sakura said, pointing towards the Angel as it walked through Tokyo-3. "A strong aura, like you said."  
  
"Someone has to stop it," Syaoron said. "And we're the only ones you can."  
  
Sakura sighed, steeled herself, and withdrew the Sakura Key from inside her blouse. "O key to the power of the stars," she began, holding it out before her, a glow starting to eminate from it, "Reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under the contract. Release!"  
  
As the incantiaton was uttered, a magical sigil appeared beneath her bearing a sun, crescent moon, and star...the sigil of the Sakura Cards. The key glowed, increasing in size, transforming into the Sealing Wand. Taking the Storm card, Sakura tossed in into the air, calling out, "O Storm, call forth the lightnings and disrupt the Angel. Storm!" Moving the wand to touch the Storm card, the card began to glow, a small, angry-looking girl emerging, then transforming into storm clouds that began to brew.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - THE CAGE  
--------------------  
  
"I'll pilot it."  
  
What happened after he said that, Shinji Ikari could not recall clearly. Everything was a blur, revolving around getting him into a long cylinder with a chair in it...something they called an 'entry plug'. Red light surrounded him as the 'plug' was inserted into the Eva, flashing numerous colors before settling on a comfortable white.  
  
Suddenly, the voice of Dr. Akagi was heard: "Filling the entry plug". Yellowish fluld, smelling vaguely of blood, appeared, flooding the cylinder. Instinctively, Shinji held his breath.  
  
"Don't worry," Dr. Akagi said. "Once your lungs are filled with LCL, your blood will be oxygenated directly. You'll get used to it." Exhaling, Shinji attempted to inhale the LCL...and to his surprise, he was able to breate it. Sort of. "I feel nauseous."  
  
"Stop whining!" Major Katsuragi said over the link. "You're a boy, aren't you?"  
  
...  
  
"Connecting main power...A-10 nerve connection, normal..." What happened afterwards seemed distant to Shinji until the pattern of the cylinder's stark white walls changed. It flashed into a rainbow pattern, then to what resembled nerve cells, then into muscle cells before settling on a simply display overlay of the area surrounding the Eva. "All preliminary contacts established. Performance normal."  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA  
--------------------  
  
"Odd," Fuyutsuki said, gesturing to the vast display screen. "The weather sattelites said nothing about a storm."  
  
Gendo Ikari ignored his Vice-Commmander, sliding his glasses up as Major Katsuragi looked up at him. "Can we really do this?"  
  
"Of course," Gendo replied. "Unless we defeat the Angels, we have no future."  
  
"Ikari, are you sure about this?" Fuyutsuki asked. Gendo's only response was a smile.  
  
Katsuragi nodded, and turned back to her team. "Launch!"  
  
Before long, the purple form of Unit 01 emerged from the lift, about thirty meters away from the Angel.  
  
"Shinji-kun," Katsuragi thought, "Don't get killed out there."  
  
The storm continued to brew, a dark echo of the battle that was about to unfold. 


	2. Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Ceiling

Carcaptor Evangelion  
Chapter 1  
Unfamiliar Ceiling  
by Teknomancer  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3  
--------------------  
  
"Shinji-kun, just focus on walking right now." Dr. Ritsuko Akagi's voice crackled over the Evangelion's speakers. Shinji gritted his teeth. "Walk..."  
  
The purple Unit 01 took a shaky step forward, and the cheering of NERV could be heard over the speakers. A bolt of lightning struck down a short distance away from the Angel.  
  
Shinji's second step was not so good. Tripping over the umbilical, Unit 01 crashed to the ground, the towering form of the Angel approaching.  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY  
--------------------  
  
"This isn't good..." Kero said. "That purple robot is radiating power too...and it's almost the same as that of the Angels."  
  
"But isn't it fighting the Angel?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Possibly," Syaoron admitted. "Either way, we still need to stop the Angel."  
  
Sakura nodded, clenching the Sealing Wand with one hand as she withdrew another Sakura Card. "O Woody, bind the Angel where it..."  
  
"Stop!" Syaoron grabbed Sakura with his free arm, his sword held in the other. "That Card will be too obvious...there's got to be something else we can do."  
  
Just then, Unit 01 collapsed. "We don't have a choice, Syaoron-kun!" Sakura shouted. "If we don't stop it now, humanity is doomed! Bind the Angel where it stands...Woody!" Tossing the Card into the air, it began to glow as the Wand touched it, wooden tendrils lunging forward and wrapping around the Angel.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA  
--------------------  
  
The mood was a picture-perfect snapshot of confusion. When Unit 01 fell, Katsuragi and Akagi both seemed scared. But with those wooden tendrils wrapping around the Angel... "SEELE?" Fuyutsuki asked.  
  
"Doubtful," Gendo Ikari said. "They couldn't have made this much progress with the Complement already."  
  
"And we have?" Fuyutsuki replied. "We still don't understand these powers...we don't know what they'll do. They could destroy us all."  
  
Ikari gestured to the screen. "As could that."  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3  
--------------------  
  
"Shinji, get up!" Akagi screamed over the speakers. The pilot looked up to see the Angel tearing away the wooden tendrils that had surrounded it, its free hand reaching down to pick up the Eva. Dropping the broken pieces of wood, it grabbed Unit 01's arm and began pulling it.  
  
The pain was indescribable. Shinji grabbed at his arm, heedless of the voice coming over the speakers. "Shinji-kun, calm down! That's not your arm!"  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY  
--------------------  
  
"Sakura-chan, do something!" Tomoyo begged.  
  
"Leave it to me," Syaoron said, pulling out an ofuda. "God of Lightning, descend!" Syaoron intoned, throwing the ofuda towards the Angel. Guided by mystic energies, the ofuda struck the Angel, calling forth lightning from the still-brewing clouds.  
  
The bolt struck down, but was stopped by a sudden orange-colored energy field.  
  
"Real effective, boy," Kero laughed. "Perhaps you can throw a plush toy at it next?"  
  
"Like you?" Syaoron shot back.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA  
--------------------  
  
Chaos reigned once more in Central Dogma. Dr. Akagi stood over a horde of panicked techs. "What's going on with the Evangelion's defense system?"  
  
"The signal's not working! The field's not unfolding!", a male tech replied.  
  
Akagi gasped. "Have we failed?"  
  
On the screen, the Angel's attempts finally bore fruit, as Unit 01's left arm flopped at an odd angle, where a joint was not supposed to be. "Left arm damaged!" "The circuits have snapped!"  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY  
--------------------  
  
Sakura, Kero, Tomoyo, and Syaoron watched the proceedings in panic. "It's...it's like The Shield..." Sakura whispered.  
  
"And you can't use the Sword card without being seen," Syaoron said. "And with that robot damaged...wait, that's it!" Syaoron jumped up, almost knocking Kero out of the air. "Use the Time card!"  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA  
--------------------  
  
"Shinji-kun, dodge!"  
  
But it was too late. The energy blade shot forward, smashing into Unit 01's head. Repeatedly.  
  
"There's a crack in the front of the brain case!" a tech yelled out. "The armor won't last much longer!"  
  
Again, the energy blade struck, then lanced out further, piercing the head and sending the Eva crashing into a building. Blood began to leak out.  
  
"The head's been damaged!" another tech reported. "Extent of damage, unknown!"  
  
"The control nerves are breaking off! We're not getting any readings on the pilot!"  
  
"Shinji-kun!" Katsuragi screamed as another bolt of lightning came down, striking near the Eva.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - HOSPITAL  
--------------------  
  
Shinji gasped as he awoke, then paused. This...wasn't Unit 01. He lied back down, and glanced around. He was in a hospital room, clearly. And the ceiling...  
  
"This ceiling is unfamiliar." 


	3. Chapter 2: An Interlude

Carcaptor Evangelion  
Chapter 2  
An Interlude  
by Teknomancer  
  
--------------------  
SEELE - LOCATION CLASSIFIED  
--------------------  
  
"So the Angels have returned. It's so sudden."  
  
"It's the same as it was fifteen years ago," an elderly SEELE member replied. "A disaster comes as it will, without warning."  
  
"On the positive side," a third member stated, "our previous investments will not go to waste."  
  
"You can't be sure about that," the first SEELE member said. "If it doesn't pay off, it's a waste all the same."  
  
"Correct," the second member interjected. "Now that the Angels have become common knowledge, we have to manipulate the information to avoid trouble. NERV must take care of these matters quickly."  
  
"It's already been taken care of," Gendo said. "You may rest assured of that."  
  
"Well, we must acknowledge that," the first member admitted. "Speaking of which, Ikari-san, isn't there a better way to utilize NERV and Eva?"  
  
"We're referring to the repair costs for Unit 01," the elderly SEEle member said, "which when added to the costs for Unit 00, are enough to bankrupt an entire country."  
  
"We also understand," a fourth member said, "that you gace that particular toy to your son, did you not?"  
  
"Manpower, time, and money," the first SEELE member added. "How much more will be wasted by you and your family?"  
  
"And that is not your only responsibilty," the fourth member pointed out. "The Human Enhancement Project. That should be your top priority."  
  
"Correct," the second, elderly SEELE member agreed. "Under these desperate circumstances, that project is our only hope. Do you understand?"  
  
"In any case," the formidable leader of SEELE said, "the Angel is no excuse for delaying the Complementation Project's schedule."  
  
"The Complementation Project?" Gendo asked.  
  
"We saw the wood that was created to bind the Angel, Ikari-san," the third member said. "That power could only be created by the Complement."  
  
"Odd that you had not reported that it had progressed that far," the second member mused.  
  
"We were not involved," Gendo assured SEELE. "In fact, we believed you responsible."  
  
"So someone else has tapped into that ancient power," the leader said. "we must find out who, if we are to master it."  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - HOSPITAL  
--------------------  
  
Shinji Ikari gazed out the window of the hospital, overlooking the Geo-Front. The sound of a door opening caused him to turn, just in time to see a heavily injured Rei Ayanami being wheeled past him. She glanced up at Shinji as the bed went by.  
  
--------------------  
KINOMOTO RESIDENCE  
--------------------  
  
"I'm just glad that worked," Sakura said to Kero as she collapsed on the bed. "One invading Angel is one too many for me."  
  
"I have to hand it to the brat," Kero said, "He did come up with a good idea. Of course, I don't know if we could have done it alone."  
  
Sakura nodded. "The robot did help. If only I knew who its pilot was..."  
  
--------------------  
LI RESIDENCE  
--------------------  
  
Syaoron sat in the library of the house the Li family had rented in Tokyo-3, digging through what books of lore where there. The selection was limited, sadly...the main Li library was back in China, and it wouldn't be safe to try to access the books over a 'net feed.  
  
One...two...three...with every book, the chances of Syaoron's finding the answer grew weaker and weaker.  
  
But he knew he had read something about the Angel...the question is, where? 


	4. Chapter 3: The Beast

Carcaptor Evangelion  
Chapter 3  
The Beast  
by Teknomancer  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - KATSURAGI APARTMENT  
--------------------  
  
"And it's the city that you saved."  
  
The words echoed in the head of Shinji Ikari, raising what spirits still remained after the fight with Satchiel. He had faced the Angel, and he had won...but somehow, things seemed to be going downhill for him afterwards.  
  
First, there was the 'party' Misato threw for him after moving into the apartment with her. That was his first clue that maybe he should have chosen to live alone. Sure, the food was good...but it was instant. And the beer...  
  
Shinji sighed, shaking it off. Misato was probably right...he should get a bath, to cleanse his spriit.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - EVA TESTING BAY CONTROL ROOM  
--------------------  
  
"So, how was Rei today?"  
  
Gendo's lack of an answer only caused Ritsuko to continue. "You did see her at the hospital this afternoon, didn't you?"  
  
Gendo didn't turn, continuing to stare at the frozen Unit 00. "She'll be ready to work in twenty days. By then, we'll be ready to re-activate Unit 00 from cryostasis."  
  
Ritusko sighed. "It's so hard on those poor children."  
  
"There is no one else who can pilot the Evas," Gendo said. "As long as they survive, that is what I'll have them do."  
  
"With no regard to what they may want?" Ritsuko inquired.  
  
"There is no choice," Gendo said. "With SEELE aware of magic not under our control, we must do what we can to keep what little autonomy we still have."  
  
Akagi nodded. "You're talking about that wood, right?"  
  
"Yes," Gendo said. "The Complement...the forgotten magic. Only that can save us from the Angels."  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - KATSURAGI APARTMENT  
--------------------  
  
Shinji rested in bed, trying to sleep. But with everything that had happened, he knew that it would be a long time before he would ever sleep again. The battle that day...what he saw at the end...it would torment him forever.  
  
"Another unfamiliar ceiling."  
  
Even now, he was seeing it again.  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - THAT AFTERNOON  
--------------------  
  
The Third Angel's energy lance smashed into the head of Unit 01, sending the purple Evangelion flying backwards, crashing into a building. Its head dropped down, and blood began to leak out.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA - THAT AFTERNOON  
--------------------  
  
"The brain case has been damaged! Extent of damage, unknown!"  
  
"We're having problems maintaining activation!"  
  
The frenzied voices of NERV techs were a shrill counterpart to the deep, blaring sound of the emergency alert, as well as a perfect match for the mood of NERV. Unit 01 was in trouble...BIG trouble.  
  
Only Misato was maintaining a cool head down there. "Status report!"  
  
"The synchrograph is reversing! The pulses are flowing backward!"  
  
"Break the circuit!" Dr. Akagi ordered. "Block it!"  
  
"We can't!" the tech replied. "It's not accepting the signal! It won't take it!"  
  
"What about Shinji?" Misato asked another tech.  
  
"His monitors aren't responding," he replied. "His condition's unknown! Unit 01's gone completely silent!"  
  
"Misato!" Akagi yelled, slowly becoming panicked.  
  
"We've got to stop this," Misato whispered to herself. "Abort the operation! Rescuing the pilot is our first priority! Eject the entry plug!"  
  
"We can't!" another tech yelled. "It's completely out of control!"  
  
"No way!" Misato yelled, equally panicked now.  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - THAT AFTERNOON  
--------------------  
  
Shinji clenched his arm tight...his broken arm, despite being told otherwise. But it wasn't his arm...was it.  
  
"No," he whispered to himself.  
  
And Unit 01's eyes lit up.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA - THAT AFTERNOON  
--------------------  
  
"The Eva's re-activating!" said a voice over the loudspeaker.  
  
"Impossible!" said a tech. "How could this happen?!"  
  
"Impossible!" Misato repeated.  
  
Only Dr. Akagi knew what it was. "A berzerker?"  
  
And Unit 01 roared.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA - THAT AFTERNOON  
--------------------  
  
Unit 01 dropped into a three-point crouch, then lept towards the Angel, planting a spinning kick into its chest, reaching down to tear at its neck. The Angel reached up, trying both to pull off Unit 01 and tear it in two as well.  
  
Leaping backwards, Unit 01 crashed into the ground, before spinning around and roaring.  
  
Gendo and Fuyutsuki watched all this on the main screen. "It looks like we've won," Fuyutsuki said.  
  
Unit 01 charged towards the Angel, only to run headlong into an AT field.  
  
"An AT field!" Ritsuko yelled.  
  
"No!" Misato breathed. "As long as the Angel has that AT field up..."  
  
"...He can't get near the Angel!" Ritsuko finished.  
  
Unit 01 stood back, and raised its left arm. Suddenly, a purple energy field appeared where the wound was, only to be replaced by the original armor plating.1  
  
"The left arm has been regenerated!" a tech yelled.  
  
"Incredible!" Misato whispered.  
  
And Unit 01 began to claw at the AT field.  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY - THAT AFTERNOON   
--------------------  
  
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked Syaoran.  
  
"The Time card," Syaoron repeated. "Freeze time, and cut the energy field open! It's the only way that robot can defeat the Angel!"  
  
Sakura sighed, nodded, and clenched up on the sealing wand. "Time Card," she yelled, the Sakura Card sigil appearing beneath her again, "Freeze the moment!"  
  
Sakura's magic cast a parchment-colored tint over all of Tokyo-3, leaving only Syaoron, Kero, and herself untinted.  
  
"I can do this now," she said to herself, tossing two more Sakura cards into the air. "Cards crafted by Sakura, your mistress commands you, bestow thy power unto me! Fly! Sword!"  
  
As the cards came into contact with the sealing wand, they glew bright and vanished. Wings grew on Sakura's back, and the sealing wand reshaped itself into a sword. Kero flew up. "You know what you're doing, Sakura?"  
  
"I know what I have to do, Kero," Sakura replied. "That's all I can hope for."  
  
And Sakura flew towards the Angel...and Unit 01, the orange AT field flickering brightly as Unit 01's hand touched it, never moving, like a movie on Pause.  
  
With a scream, Sakura stabbed the Sword card down, cutting deeply into the AT field where Unit 01 was clawing at it.  
  
"Will that be enough?" Kero asked as Sakura flew out of sight, the Time Card's magic already fading.  
  
"Let's hope so," Sakura replied.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - CENTRAL DOGMA - THAT AFTERNOON  
--------------------  
  
"Unit 01's expanding an AT field of its own...wait!" a tech yelled, the previous report rapidly changing. "The Angel's AT field just collapsed!"  
  
On the screen, the orange, hexagonal field shattered.  
  
"Unbelievable!" Misato said. "It went through that AT field so easily..."  
  
The Angel fired another energy blast, leaving a cross-shaped scar in Tokyo-3. But the blast barely staggered the Evangelion. Reaching forward with its left hand, it grabbed the Angel's wrists, twisting them until they broke.  
  
Unit 01 kicked the Angel in the chest, sending it flying backwards, hitting another building. It looked up in time to see Unit 01 ramming into it, sending the Angel...and the building...backwards, leaving the Angel unable to move.  
  
Unit 01 began to claw at the red orb in the Angel's chest, punching it, then trying to rip it out. Ripping only flesh instead, the Evangelion reached back, pulled out a progressive knife, and began to stab at the red orb. As it began to shatter, the Angel screeched and gathered itself into a ball...a ball covering the Evangelion's head.  
  
"No!" Misato yelled. "It's going to self-destruct!"  
  
All Shinji could see from inside the cockpit...the cockpit he was barely controlling...was a bright white light.  
  
On the screen, a bright, cross-shaped pyre of energy lanced up from where Unit 01 stood, obscuring everything else.  
  
"Is the Eva..." Misato breated, but her questions were answered when she saw something...she never expected to see.  
  
Ritsuko saw it too. "That must be the Eva's..." she began, her voice dripping with wonder.  
  
"...true form," Misato finished, sounding shocked for her part.  
  
Gendo simply smiled a half-smile.  
  
--------------------  
TOKYO-3 - THAT AFTERNOON  
--------------------  
  
"Circuts reconnected. Systems restored. Graphs back to normal. Pilot life sings, confirmed."  
  
The voices in the cockpit of Unit 01 were heard by Shinji, but ignored. He was too shocked by what had happened.  
  
"Send out the recovery team. Hurry!"  
  
The darkness slowly faded away, being replaced by a vision of the heavily damaged purple Evangelion, Unit 01.  
  
"Preserving the pilot's life is our first priority."  
  
The head fell off Unit 01, the right eye socket positioned in perfect view of Shinji. All the pilot could do was watch, still in shock...and afraid. Afraid of what he controlled.  
  
He could barely breathe. The armor was gone, leaving...something...behind. It looked...almost organic.  
  
Suddenly, the eye socket began to bubble, as though something was growing inside it. The bubbles soon coalesced, and a pinkish slit appeared, surrounded by the greyish-brown...flesh?  
  
An eye appeared...a green eye. Entirely green, from the iris to the 'whites'. Only the pupil was black.  
  
The eye stared straight at Shinji. It focused, three smaller black spots appearing in a triangular shape.  
  
And Shijni screamed.  
  
--------------------  
NERV HEADQUARTERS - KATSURAGI APARTMENT  
--------------------  
  
Shinji woke suddenly, realizing that it was a nightmare. But the nightmare was true. Everything he had seen was true.  
  
He could barely move. The sheets were soaked in a cold sweat. He turned, trying to get back to sleep...a sleep he knew would be haunted.  
  
Misato paused outside Shinji's room, toweling her hair off. "Shinji, can I come in?"  
  
Not waiting for a response, Misato slid the door open. "I forgot to tell you something. You did a very good thing today. You should be proud of yourself. Good night, Shinji."  
  
She paused, then added, "Hang in there." 


End file.
